The above blueprint is but one of 20 being featured in the 200X Product Catalog, an upcoming book by artist Logan Zawacki that compiles "cyanotype prints of Mega Man blueprints, completely bound in a format similar to what you’d find in an industrial catalog listing all the characters as if they were for sale." The prints, all illustrated by Logan, are based off of a number of Mega Man robots, specifically, various Robot Masters. Here's a little more information in Logan's own words:
"My series pays homage to Mega Man by creating blueprints inspired by the characters from the video game franchise and displaying them in the same vernacular as a common product catalog. Each character reflects the current trend in the world’s economy that employees are expendable and machines are expected to be multifunctional. The inclusion of statistics and facts with each character further enhances the propaganda-filled experience with a clearly Pro-cyborg agenda. The main goal of my series is to make people think about the current state of the economy as well as the future state of industry. If companies begin experimenting with mechanical enhancements on people, will they then own those people as an investment? Can they sell and control these mechanized people like products? At what point does an employee become a machine? Or are all my references to man-machines simply metaphors for the way we’re already treated, due in large part to the current state of our economy?"
Seems like a fascinating project, if you ask me. You can check out a couple more sample pages at Logan's official site here (click the Portfolio tab and scroll down to the catalog). The book is due out June 1st, limited to only 50 prints. You can order a copy of your very own directly through Logan's blog here.
Thanks for the tip, Stu.
It would be great if it wasn't $100.
ReplyDeleteIf theres one pet peeve I have, its when Megaman is called a "cyborg".
ReplyDeleteit pisses me off.
And technically Megaman should not be included in the catalog, since he was never meant for anything outside of fighting Wily's robots.
Also, the pictue looks...
creepy.
"since he was never meant for anything outside of fighting Wily's robots."
ReplyDeletehouse-hold helper robot.
But I don't understand what this catalog is intended to do.
Megaman looks like an almost human skeleton, but, yeah, he looks... creep. Oh, well. That's what Dr. Light created for. *shrugs*
ReplyDelete"But I don't understand what this catalog is intended to do."
ReplyDeleteIt's an art project. It's a mock-up catalog in which you order robots.
His Mega Cyborg is clearly a cyborg. It's based on Mega Man, that doesn't mean it has to be exactly the same as Capcom's Mega Man. It's the artistic vision, man.
ReplyDelete"It's an art project. It's a mock-up catalog in which you order robots."
ReplyDeleteSo you can really order these robots, or cyborgs rather?
I mean he is putting together game info, staff info, and fake info all into one. I guess it is some doujin project, but it is odd someone would make something with such odd and much of which is incorrect information.
Instead of a fanmade, this is a "profitmaker"
ReplyDeleteDoes capcom know about this? It's kinda lame honestly...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I might buy it for the novelty value if it was only like $15, but wow, $100. So he's wanting to make $5G off an IP that isn't even his.....shaky ground he's standing on there.
ReplyDeleteGod lord, you people suck. I mean seriously, when something decent like this comes along, you people start bashing it right off the bat for stupid reasons such as it's "incorrect" or it's "not endorsed by capcom" or some other stupid reason.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, learn to give things a chance before you hate them.
Because its not decent.
ReplyDeleteThe try is appreciated and he gets an A for effort, but its just to odd, weird, and creepy.
the cyborg looking Megamn makes it seem like Light was messing around with human experimentation.
What, so theya re selling a cyborg? with "no sass like a human" what, so he a brainwashed cyborg?
MEGAMAN, is a brainwashed industrial cyborg? (who looks mighty creepy to boot)
he could have been a bit more faithful there, especially if this Megaman is any indication, the rest of the robots featured, hwill most likely get the same treatment. some very creepy or odd looking cyborg hybrid. the King Robotics is a very cool touch, but, witt he skull, makes it seem like its some Wily run catalog.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteI find this really, really cool.
except that it is $100. C'mon, that's way above the market, man. Seriously. Wouldn't you guys buy it, even for the inaccuracies and such for a lower price?
With that aside, the art is awesome. And it'll help if there was no human experimentation involved...
"If companies begin experimenting with mechanical enhancements on people, will they then own those people as an investment? Can they sell and control these mechanized people like products? At what point does an employee become a machine?"
Yeah... Are we still talking about the same megaman?
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteLogan Zawacki here. Just thought I'd answer some of your questions about the book. I've found the feedback very honest, and I appreciate that, so now I'll try to answer some of your issues.
1) Why it's $100 - This is a self-published book, so I don't have the luxury of printing a book for $5 then selling it for $30 and making a $25 profit. Instead I put a lot of money into producing a book that recreates the aesthetic of an industrial catalog and because I've done such a small run of 50 copies, it cost me that much more to produce per book, but it increases the value of the book.
2) Mega Man and the rest of the characters are referred to as cyborgs because of 2 reasons. Firstly, if I called him Mega Man I would certainly get sued. Secondly, making the characters part man/part machine supports my concept.
3) Yes, this is an Art project. Yes, it is fanmade. I'm not looking to make a profit, I'm looking to break even. I have a lot of respect for what Capcom and Keiji Inafune have done with the Mega Man franchise.
4) This book is intended to pay homage to what they've created, but with enough of my original content that Capcom hopefully won't come after me for litigation. That would explain why there are so many "inaccuracies." Like I said before, I'm not looking to make a profit and I'm not looking to just copy information they've provided and put it in a book, so I don't know why they'd come after me for trying to promote their company.
5) Once again, thank you guys for the honest feedback and if I ever get a chance to discuss legal matters with Capcom over this book and receive their approval, then I'll be able to make a cheaper version through Blurb or some other self-publishing site.
Hope that answers some of your questions and thanks again for at least taking a look at my work. If you'd like to see more of the characters, I just posted several of them on my website (loganzawacki.com). Just click on Portfolio - 200X Product Catalog, and enjoy the creepiness. lol
- Logan Zawacki
you guys are so critical you don't even know what you're talking about lol
ReplyDeletetime to get SERIOUS about robots running around in their underwear
GOSH IT'S A ROBOT NOT A CYBORG YOU GUYSSS!!!
When was the last time any of you printed a book? It's really expensive unless you're aiming for hundreds of copies. It's an enormous investment printing anything. $100 per copy, and he's only printing 50 to break even - do the math, he's spent at least 5 grand on printing it. There's no point unless you're completely satisfied with the outcome.
Personally I think it takes a LOT to want to actually produce something like this. I've just emailed for my copy.